Christian Leaders Across The Country Oppose Trump’s Muslim Refugee Ban

By All That's Interesting

Published January 30, 2017

By All That's Interesting

Published January 30, 2017

Stephanie Keith/Getty ImagesProtestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on in New York City.

Many of America’s Christian leaders have spoken out against President Trump’s executive order to ban refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries.

More than 2,000 religious leaders have signed an open letter urging Congress to reject the refugee ban and to resist discriminating based on religion or nationality.

“As people of faith, our values call us to welcome the stranger, love our neighbor, and stand with the vulnerable, regardless of their religion,” the Interfaith Immigration Coalition wrote. “We pray that in your discernment, compassion for the plight of refugees will touch your hearts. We urge you to be bold in choosing moral, just policies that provide refuge for vulnerable individuals seeking protection.”

First drafted last year in anticipation of Trump taking office, the letter includes representatives from the Church World Service, a humanitarian relief group. The organization’s leader, Jen Smyers, called this past Friday — when the Muslim ban went into effect — a “shameful day.”

In addition, World Relief, a humanitarian organization associated with the National Association of Evangelicals, has collected 12,000 signatures from evangelical Christians opposing Trump’s order as well.

“Any limitation against any vulnerable population is to fly in the face of human dignity, of people made in the image of God,” said Rev. Scott Arbeiter, the president of World Relief, to The New York Times.

Meanwhile, Ed Stetzer, the executive director of the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism, wrote in The Washington Post’s opinion section that fellow evangelicals must not let “alternative facts” decide refugee policy, despite how overwhelmingly they voted for Trump.

Furthermore, it seems that Trump has Christian opposition to the ban within his own cabinet as well.

Vice President Mike Pence once tweeted in December 2015 — when the ban was just a campaign rally idea — that “Calls to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. are offensive and unconstitutional.”

For his part, Trump has said that the Muslim ban — which runs for 90 days and only affects countries where the Trump family doesn’t have any business interests — is a “legal” measure.

Next, read about why the South Korean president had to apologize for falling under the sway of a religious cult figure, before checking out how an Indiana mom invoked religious freedom law as a defense for beating her son.